It is rare for a five-star high school talent to stick around the University of Kentucky’s basketball program for more than a year. Last season, P.J. Washington made the difficult decision to come back for a sophomore campaign, and his return for another run catapulted him into the NBA Draft lottery. This year, three other former five-star prospects — Ashton Hagans, E.J. Montgomery and Immanuel Quickley — hope to follow Washington’s two-year path from UK to the league.
But three years at UK for a former five-star, McDonald’s All-American? That is extremely rare under John Calipari’s watch.